How it Began
I attended a small liberal arts college in Alabama and earned a bachelor’s degree in Art Education. A little over a year later I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. I taught at a Montessori school for fifteen years before going into photography full-time. Bang Images has experienced a decade of photography! I resigned from teaching in May of 2015 and excitedly assumed the role of small business owner, knowing much more about photography than running a business, but so eager to learn.
Please celebrate with me by looking at the highlights from a decade of photography by Bang Images! (As you can imagine, it was very hard to narrow down thousands of images, and it’s taken me months to do so. There are many photos; I hope you enjoy them!) You’ll see portraits of individuals, families, and couples, including weddings and small events.
I recall a blog post written in year three of Bang Images titled “5 Surprises When I Started My Business”. These were the surprises a.k.a. challenges: the business of running a photography business, time spent marketing, the value of patience, SEO, and the art of communication. I thought it would be fun to revisit them to see if they’re still relevant. And yes! They are still areas that need a great deal of attention even ten years later.
I remember thinking I could do my own bookkeeping at the start of Bang Images but soon decided to hire a bookkeeper. That was one of my best business decisions. It continues to relieve stress from this right-brained thinker.
Marketing a business is tricky for those of us who are emotionally tied to our work. It was tough in the beginning, but probably for different reasons than it’s hard now. It was and is nearly impossible to disconnect myself from my photography, and I felt it was a little obnoxious sharing it all the time. (I’m over that now! Family’s gotta eat!)
The value of patience is one that I still mindfully practice. It was a long time before word-of-mouth actually generated work.
Growing your business’s SEO takes time and a commitment to making it work. It doesn’t take weeks or months, but rather years of dedication. This was a hard realization in the beginning.
The art of communication might have been one of the biggest challenges for me as an introvert at the start of my business. Because of much practice, I think I’m more outgoing now; but it takes a conscious effort even a decade later. One thing will never change, I’ve never loved the “let’s be besties” approach many photographers take. I’d rather be real; even if that means I’m a little quiet during photo sessions. At least you can bet it’s because I’m busy creating art!
How it’s Going After a Decade of Photography
Bang Images is still one of my greatest accomplishments! Outside of raising children, I’d say running my own business has been my next biggest challenge and reward. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be able to not only choose to be a photographer, but also a full-time one.
As some of you may already know, I added a second title to my career in August of 2023. I am a photographer at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) in their Marketing and Communications Department. It is a lot to juggle some days, running my own business and working at UAB, but it’s totally worth it. This means I’m either getting to use a camera or editing photos almost every single day.
I feel like I’ve grown as a photographer because I’ve been faced with new challenges from a broader variety of subjects, to new locations, to the time of day I photograph! My original concern with choosing to work at UAB was that I would be compromising too much-that I would have to give up on my business-my dream.
Thankfully, I feel I’ve gained more than I’ve had to give up. For example, in my own business, I’m primarily an outdoor, natural light photographer; but at UAB, artificial light is needed quite often. I’ve become much more proficient in using it. This has already proven beneficial in my work with Bang Images.
I’m getting to do what I love every day and growing as a photographer. I really couldn’t be happier!
Bang Images has many repeat clients. I estimate more than half my clients are people I’ve worked with before. It is the ultimate compliment to be hired multiple times! I offer those clients a Grateful Gift. I established this practice soon after Bang Images began and I plan to continue it indefinitely.
What Lies Ahead
Life is great, busy, and full of photography! I don’t anticipate making any big changes in the near future. In my first decade of photography, I photographed individuals; families; couples, including weddings; and small events. I predict the same for the next, but I try to remain open-minded because you just never know what opportunities will present themselves.
My expectation is to keep doing photography for fun as well with creative portrait sessions whenever I can fit them in. I think it’s important to remember why I wanted to become a photographer in the first place-it was because I love it and it’s a huge part of who I am and how I see the world.
I think it’s highly possible that I’ll be blogging about 20 years in business in another decade! We shall see! In the meantime, think about how cool it would be to see yourself in that post! Let’s make art together. Contact me to schedule your portrait session, event, or wedding. I’d love to hear from you!
If you made it through the entire post, you’re the real MVP! Thank you! A decade of photography with Bang Images has been a labor of love-one that I’m truly grateful to call my own. It wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. I am especially appreciative of those who’ve hired and/or modeled for me. If you’ve spent time in front of my camera, a warm, heartfelt thank you to you! Your contribution means something.
